


Life After the Infection

by Rough_Rabbit_Head



Series: Reposted from my old FFnet account [1]
Category: Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mentions of Drug and Alcohol Usage, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 01:58:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9526847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rough_Rabbit_Head/pseuds/Rough_Rabbit_Head
Summary: After the Infection, the team had made it to safety, but Nick had stayed true to his word and fled from them as soon as they did. Soon, however, he regrets the decision as his feelings for Ellis and the habits he had formed during his time fighting the Infected refused to leave him.Reposted/Edited from FFnet and being continued here.





	1. Nick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, after posting the final chapter of Save Me from the Memories, I got to thinking back to some of my old stories I posted on FFnet back when I first started writing and then decided I would post some of my old works here. I will not be posting all of them and if you are interested in the crap I wrote in middle school, then just search for TheFlurryofMelodiousFlames on FFnet and cringe away!
> 
> I doubt I mentioned it when I originally wrote it, but the chapter titles are the POV the chapter is written in as I will switch back and forth between Nick and Ellis. I haven't played L4D2 since I was originally writing this, so my knowledge is a bit rusty and I apologize for that.

Some things just never change. The world went to shit when the Green Flu hit, but eventually, the government found a way to contain it and life slowly went back to normal. Nick was finally able to escape the three people he was somewhat forced to team up with after a few days being stuck in a quarantine camp and head to California which somehow had avoided the entire infection.

His life was trying to return to the way it was before, but after all he had been through, it was difficult. He would often find himself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and start talking to himself. He would speak the way he did to Rochelle when she was on watch and he couldn't sleep with the sound of zombies trying to claw their way into the safe room. He would murmur the way he did to Coach when they were checking their stock of ammo and bandages. He would whisper the way he had when Ellis was lying beside him at night, injured and scared he might be dying.

He tried to distract himself with his old gambling habits and cheap women who wanted nothing more than to forget the Zombie Infection ever happened. None of it ever worked, though. The skin of the female body felt too fragile to the touch. The cards and dice felt far too light in his grasp. The taste of alcohol and cigarettes was sickening on his tongue.

He had become a different man during the apocalypse. He was much softer now, a better person than he ever could have imagined himself being. He'd spent months risking his life for the sake of people he'd barely met on the roof of a burning hotel and, in time, grew fond of them; like they were family. He ran halfway across the country, trying to seek safety and possibly a new start with them. He fell in love with a hick mechanic from Savannah who talked way too much, found a sister in a news reporter who had seen far worse things than she ever should have, and a father figure in an ex-football coach who cared more for his team than he did for himself. He had found a family, people who had slowly began to really care for him, just to throw it away the first chance he got.

To make matters worse, he left when Ellis had needed him most. They had found the safety they had desperately fought for; A large camp guarded by the military to house those who had made it out of the Infected areas without being infected themselves. Ellis was reunited with his old friend Dave and was excited to catch up with him, until he gave him the grim news that his best buddy Keith had been bitten and had to be shot to stop him from turning. He should have stayed there to comfort his little firecracker, but instead, he turned heel and fled as fast as he could, eventually making it to a safe zone far away from the camp. This was something he now deeply regretted.

Some things don't ever change. Nick had formed new habits during the Infection. He learned to look out for others; to love, to care, and to protect. He may have changed from the asshole of a man he was before, but the gentler side of him the devastation of the Zombie Apocalypse had unlocked sure as hell wasn't going anywhere. He had to make it back to them. He had to find Ellis and make things right before it was too late. He had to find a way to make things right. He had to fix the mistakes he had made, even if it was a lost cause. He knew he needed to do the right thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this first chapter in January of 2014 and chapter 2 a few months later and then proceeded to abandon my Fanfiction account, so since this was the last fic I was writing there, it is the first I am reposting here and I promise if you guys like my updated version of this, I will be continuing it, though it won't be very long anyways. Stay tuned for more repostings and future updates to this story! Chapter two will be up today as I am reediting that one next.


	2. Ellis

It has been weeks, maybe even months, since they made it to the safety of the quarantine camp. Since he found out his best friend and first love didn’t make it out of Savanah. Since the love of his life walked away when he needed him the most and would probably never return to him.

Honestly, he didn't think he would have survived the depression if it weren't for his buddy, Dave. Coach and Rochelle were both moved to different camps to be with their families that had made it through the military evacuations and have more than likely been living happily in quarantine this entire time while they were out there fighting for their lives to make it here to safety. If Dave had died with Keith, he would be all alone, left with the heartbreak of knowing none of his family had survived, Keith was shot in the head to keep him from turning, and the man he so desperately needed more than anything the moment his world came crashing down around him had run off without a word. The thought was too unbearable for him to handle.

He couldn't even sleep at night. He would just lay there in bed, listening to Dave snore heavily as his thoughts drifted back to those nights when he would lay next to Nick and whisper words of comfort to him when neither of them knew if there was even a reason for them to keep fighting in the first place. The nights when they would try to keep their voices down as they made love with Coach and Rochelle sleeping in the next room.

He sat up in his bed quickly. He knew what he had to do. He knew he had to go to the main office tent and put in a request to head out to California. He needed to go find Nick and force him to explain why he left when he needed him for than anything. He would demand the answers to all the questions that had been nagging his mind, plaguing his dreams, and hounding him nonstop since he realized the other was gone.

But, overall, he would find a way to get him back and make him realize he was wrong to leave, that they needed each other, and to let him know how much their love really meant to him.

He was going to force himself back into Nick's life if it was the last thing he did. Of that, he was absolutely sure as he slowly got dressed and made his way out of his and Dave’s tent, determination clearly etched on his tired face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to add more onto this chapter before posting it, but then decided it would probably be best to leave it as it is so I can separate the stuff I write from here on out from the stuff I wrote back in 2014. I will probably write more to this after I finish editing some of the other stories I am reposting from FFnet. I hope you guys like this so far. 2014 me tried really hard during the transition between high school and college to write this stuff.


End file.
